A Glendale family is releasing surveillance footage of what appears to be a man approaching their doorstep, and walking away with their decorated Christmas tree.

Dina Fimbres said she and her family were home eating breakfast when the thief struck.

"My heart just sank. I froze. I didn't think someone would do that," Fimbres said in an interview with KPHO. "It's almost like a slap in the face."

She said decorating the tree her family left on their front porch for neighbors to admire was a bonding activity in her household, and having it stolen in broad daylight made them feel, "completely violated."

The Glendale Police Department put out a statement on their Facebook page with different tips to avoid becoming the victim of a crime.

However, people across the country have been reporting thieves getting in the way of the Christmas spirit.

A Florida man said his $100 light display vanished after he put it up in mid-November. The display, meant to flash red and green lights into his yard, was installed below his mailbox.

A Georgia-based charity, Bridging the Gap, was broken into by two men after Thanksgiving weekend. In two trips, the pair stole an electric guitar, a 32-inch television and DVD player and three children's bikes, the Newnan Police Department wrote in a statement. The items were originally donated to Bridging the Gap, and were meant to be Christmas presents to local families in need.

At the Gile's Family Farm, located in Alfred, Maine, more than 200 wreaths were stolen from the business last weekend. An entire trailer carrying $5,000 worth of wreaths vanished overnight before the staff had a chance to unload the merchandise.

"It was just hard to fathom why they'd take a trailer load," owner Frank Boucher said in an interview with WGME. "Seems as though someone had a plan. I'd have thought you need a place to take 200 wreaths. You're not gonna decorate your house."